A satellite may be placed in various orbits about Earth. What is commonly referred to as a geosynchronous orbit is one where the satellite orbits Earth once each day. This requires that the satellite be located about 35,800 kilometers or 22,300 miles above the Earth's surface. The satellite's orbital period at this particular altitude should match the rate at which the Earth rotates about its polar axis. Comparatively, both the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle orbit in what is commonly referred to as a Low Earth Orbit. The International Space Station orbits Earth at an altitude of about 400 kilometers above the Earth's surface, while the Space Shuttle commonly orbits Earth at an altitude of about 300 kilometers above the Earth's surface. A satellite that is in a geosynchronous orbit hereafter may be referred to as a “geosynchronous satellite.”
Deployable thermal radiators are common in commercial, civil and government satellite systems. Many larger satellites with significant thermal dissipation requirements are currently using deployable thermal radiators with fixed deployment positions. The thermal radiator's fixed deployed position is chosen to optimize the thermal dissipation capability while taking into account sun-angles and other spacecraft design driving requirements (e.g., solar array blockage, antenna blockage, thruster plume impingement). By fixing the deployed position of the thermal radiator for the entire mission, the current art makes a compromise against all competing parameters and thus may not provide the maximum capability at a given time.